Catching
by TopHatGirl
Summary: Post Sburb, the resident coolkid disappeared for a year, coming back to prevent John from making a fool of himself. Funny, how even though Dave was the one catching, John's the one there to pick up the pieces. One-shot.


**Disclaimer: If I was Mr. Hussie, Tavros wouldn't have fucking died, because I am NOT GOING TO LET MY ASSOCIATED SIGN TROLL DIE, SO... Also, there would have been a lot more self insertions, because I am more narcissistic and arrogant.**

_Listen To While Reading: This Modern Love-Bloc Party_

Sometimes, John Egbert missed the breeze. It would brush his hair back and forth and plaster a smile on his face. Rose would frequently point out that this was because he was tied to the wind now, but John always knew he had a liking to the element. Late nights during storms, he would crawl out onto his rooftop and let it flow through him, staring up at the stars. He would usually do this after watching some sweet Nic Cage movies, and then reenact them on the rooftop. His father would sometimes come up with him, smoking a pipe, and talk to him about serious subjects. John hated it then; he would rather plan pranks and tell jokes than discuss mature matters, but now, he ached for it. He was alone in the house, his Dad was gone, and now here he was, on a rooftop, hoping for just a small gust of wind to come.

No, it was a stale night, just him and the moon. Some of his friends were pestering him on the computer downstairs, but he could ignore them for a few minutes. He could just possibly go back to how it was, for a brief moment.

He stood up, inhaling and jutting his chest out, a determined look on his face. He was going to reenact some Con Air scenes, just like the old days. He strode back and forth across the rooftop, lowering his voice for the great moments of the movie. He curled his fists, jutted his chin up, saying, "You are going-" He immediately lost his footing at the edge of the roof, sliding forward. A yell bubbled up in his throat, and he went plummeting down. His hands fumbled for a support to grab on to, but it was useless. There was no time to do anything, and he fell.

Then a pair of arms caught him, right before he made contact with the earth. He blinked, wondering why he wasn't dead.

"What the fuck are you doing, Egbert?" the resident coolkid asked, peering down at him from his ironic shades. John was in Dave's arms bridal style, because Dave just did the coolest youth catch ever.

John squirmed. "I was on my rooftop, trying to roleplay some kickass Nic Cage movies," he said simply, crossing his arms.

"I hate you," he said deeply, walking down the street. The city was long ago abandoned, only the occasional crow rested upon an arch or in a crevice of a dim sign.

"Aren't you gonna let me down?" John asked, indicating that the taller boy was still carrying him. He gazed at the sky above Dave's head. Dave didn't bother to make eye contact with Egbert, just kept going.

"No."

It was silent for a few moments. Dave made a right, making his way to the downtown area. John counted the streetlights they passed. 1...2...3...4...5... "I haven't seen you in almost a year," he commented. 6. 7. 8.

"I was busy," he offered as an answer. 9. 10.

John frowned. "We were all worried. Jade thought about trying to find you, but Terezi knew you were alright, though she was anxious, too. I mean, we were all together, figuring out what to do with the rest of our lives, with this empty world and everything..." he drifted off, not sure where he was going with this. 11. Dave raised an eyebrow, and John raced to collect his thoughts. "And you just said you had things to do, and then left. You just left, and we scattered. I sailed around for a while, which was cool. But it was lonely sometimes, and I had forgotten my computers, so I was was cut off from communication. When I got back, Jade lectured me about keeping five on hand at all times, but I didn't really listen, and even now I..."

"John," Dave interrupted. "You're rambling. Get to the point, bro."

"I guess, I." John bit his lip, waving his arms in frustration. "I'm just trying to say I missed you!" He gave up counting the streetlights, and focused on Dave's face.

Dave didn't speak, mouth parted slightly. The walking slowed to a shamble, and the steps got a bit clumsy. John pound on Dave's chest in annoyance. "Dammit, Dave! Say something you jerk!" There were still the agonizing seconds that ticked by where no words were said. "If you're trying to be ironic, it's not! It's called being a douche and you should say something or else I'll kick you!" John hated being so hateful towards his best friend, but the irritation crept along his spine and opened the rage inside of him.

Tick. Tock. "...Dave?" the anger quelled, resting in John, and only leaving the worried whispers "Please, say something."

Dave stopped moving altogether. John quietly reached his hand up, gently gripping the side of the Knight of Time's sunglasses, and pulling them off with a slow movement. Dave makes no gesture to stop him, so they drop to the sidewalk with a clatter. Dave was squeezing his eyes shut. John wrapped his arms around Dave's shoulders, not uttering a sound. Tears trailed down the blonde's face, never stopping. The Heir of Breath watched the red eyes of his best friend, believing they were the best eye color he had ever seen.

"I am so sorry," Dave whispered. He carefully put down John, who still had his arms around the crying boy, letting him sob into his shoulder. "This is so uncool..." he moaned into the fabric.

"Yeah," John agreed. "But you're my best friend, and you're always the coolest guy around. Nothing you do can diminish that."

"Rose been teaching you new words?"

"One every day."

"Good."

They stayed there like that for a while, in eachother's arms, just breathing softly. John felt the breeze press against his cheek, and shivered with delight. It was a sign. He could tell. "Why did you disappear?"

"I was confused." The words were muffled by John's jacket, but still intelligible. "I went home, and threw everything that reminded me of my Bro away, then just had a breakdown for weeks. It was so odd, and I didn't know what the fuck to do with myself, so I just went wherever felt natural. I crossed oceans and traveled lands, and it all felt useless." He inhaled with a shudder. "Now I feel like shit because I just _left _you guys, and I could've called and talked but I was afraid that if I talked to anyone, I would end up...well, like this." He gave a hollow laugh. "Now the shit is real."

John held on tighter. Even if Dave was taller, he had a smaller stance with John. Weaker, even. "And then I thought about ending it all," Dave continued, much to John's horror. "Just dying, right then and there. But I was better than that. I thought, '_let's see what egderp is up to'. _I came here, to find you just coming off of that roof. And, goddammit, I was scared. I was terrified you had the same idea I did, and you were going to die. If I hadn't have caught you, and you had..." Dave gulped, exhaling in horror. "died, then man, I would've lost it, right then and there. This whole existence, it's bullshit. We can't be alone, anymore."

"We won't be then," John said, smiling softly. "You found me, so then we can't be separate. I'll make sure of it."

A few minutes in that position, before Dave cleared his throat. "John, you can let go of me now."

"No," John said, a smirk creeping on his face.

"I know you have these homoerotic feelings for me, bro, and I can't blame you-"

"Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

They both laughed, and finally John released Dave from his grasp, grabbing his hand. "Come on," he commanded, and began to tug him back the other way. John pushed open his front door, entering the house. Dave stared at the many creepy harlequin dolls, some of which John never had the heart to throw away. Nothing was touched, nothing had been moved. Even the bathtub was in pieces in the hallway. He clicked his bedroom window open, sliding it up until the curtains flowed. He pulled Dave up to the top of the window outside, swinging their legs up and over until they made it to the edge. John helped his best friend up, grinning like crazy.

Which was how they both ended up on John's rooftop, wind blowing through their hair, and hands still tangled together. They had abandoned Dave's sunglasses on the road, and he didn't seem to mind. "I'm too cool for them now," he said. John leaned his head on the other boy's shoulder, sighing contentedly.

"Are you going to talk to me about something serious?" he asked, folding his arms in his lap. "It seems like whenever I'm up here with someone else, they talk to me about something serious."

Dave paused, looking at the night sky. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am."

John didn't prod, he knew he would talk eventually. That's what you needed with Dave, patience. Whether it was scrolling through his endless beats, or waiting for him to get around to entering a video game, it took a while for anything to get done. But it's okay, because John knew he was willing to wait, just to hear whatever Dave was going to say or do next. It was never dull.

"I kept figuring and sorting through feelings while I was gone," Dave began, staring at his lap, red forming at his cheeks, the color matching his eyes. Another long pause before he continued. "And for some feelings, it was easy. Relaxingly easy. I knew who was my friend, who was my enemy..." John blinked expectantly. "And then I got to you. I mean, fuck Egbert, why do you have to be so confusing?"

"He he. I don't know."

"Anyways." Dave sighed, beads of sweat appearing at his forehead. "I started to work out my feelings for you, and all it had was me thinking _I miss him. I miss the dork, I miss his stupid face, and his stupid movies, and his dumb pranks. _All I wanted to was to find you again, so I just did."

"You just did?" John repeated in doubt.

"I don't know, it's like something was pulling me towards you, in my chest, and I know that's fucking cheesy and lame, but-"

He was rudely interrupted by John's lips on his own, wrapping his body over his. Dave kept his eyes open, staring as the blush crept on John's cheeks as they kissed. He ruffled his hands through John's soft hair, and he took the glasses off, because if he was without his sunglasses, John would be without spectacles. The Knight took everything slow, steadily kissing his best friend, and John waited in glee, because he would always wait for Dave, and this time, this was the best waiting he had ever done. In fact, he never wanted it to stop, he wanted Dave to never stop, to never make a decision.

But, eventually, Dave pulled away, leaning his forehead against John's. John was, ironically, much to Dave's pleasure, out of breath. They both stayed, in eachother's embrace, a certain happiness rising inside.

"Thanks for catching me," John stated.

Dave clutched the other boy's hand, rolling his eyes. "Dude, I'm always there to catch you. Can't get rid of me."

"I know." a pause. Dave was the one who had to wait, this time. "I love you." The air blew past them then, a gentle wind.

"I love you, too."

John might have missed the breeze, but he had missed his best friend even more.

**A/N: Ahh! So much angst and fluff! I know this won't get any views though, which is good, because I would be really embarrassed if someone read it. But fuck Dave/Terezi, John is a much more suitable matesprite. **


End file.
